Monthly Archives: November 2016

There isn’t much to be found when it comes to omens, signs, and superstitions surrounding Thanksgiving. Here are a few tidbits from various sources:

To entirely prepare a thanksgiving-dinner is a sign that you will have a house of your own before another Thanksgiving.

Always be bright and cheerful on Thanksgiving day, no matter what your troubles are, and you will have cause to rejoice thrice before the year is out.

If all the members of the family are not home at Thanksgiving, there will be one death in the family before the next Thanksgiving.

Before putting the turkey in the oven, knock 3 times on a wooden board and the meat will taste succulent.

If you eat a child’s turkey leftovers then it will make a boy naughty and a girl cry.

Pulling the wishbone:

Two people take hold of opposite ends of the turkey’s clavicle, known as the wishbone, and pull. The one who ends up with the biggest piece is given the chance to make a wish. As long as they don’t tell anyone else what the wish is, the wish is supposed to come true. If there are newlyweds at your Thanksgiving table, it is customary to give the wishbone to the new couple so that good luck will follow them throughout their marriage.

Yarrow, in the eastern counties of England, is termed Yarroway, and there is a curious mode of divination with its serrated leaf. The inside of the nose is tickled by the leaf while the following lines are spoken. If the operation causes the nose to bleed, it is a certain omen of success: